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Where exactly does "spirit" lie within Aikido? This is something that has been on my mind since the early hours of the morning. It is , by ones very nature, easy to separate ones spirituality from most activities that we perceive in our daily lives.

A new awakening , you could say, has come over me. Like having my eyes opened to something I had forgotten , or over looked. A great part of my being goes into Aikido. I may not be graceful, or be the "spinning" top that many people think of when watching accomplished aikidoka. However, everything I have is there. I treat aikido like I do my music. Everything has a melody to it, moving lines that transverse over many scales .

There is color, hidden in the field of black and white. I see it in those quiet moments, when no one knows I'm looking. The slow and gentle counter melody that is weaved between two people, who in making mistakes, are the wiser for it. There is nothing so bright as seeing ones face light up when an oh so illusive technique or principle works. That is spirit.

Spirit is the strength to go on , to shed our tears and step away from the nagging subconscious. Spirit is knowledge that the road is long and may be hard, but is worth the trek. Spirit is being able to throw ones self into such a practice and forget about dying, forget about looking good, forget about always being right. It is the humbling knowledge that despite my sweat , tears and blood, that I will never be perfect.